Tasty Heritage Turkeys

A rare breed brings history to the holiday

On a Maryland farm a few autumns ago, I picked out a glossy-feathered turkey. This was no frozen supermarket bird: It was a variety called Slate, one of several "heritage breeds" clawing their way back from the brink of extinction.

Nearly all the roughly 250 million turkeys raised commercially in the United States are of a single breed, Broad Breasted White. Heritage turkeys are smaller, slower growing — and rare. In 1997 the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy found only 1,335 breeding heritage birds. That number has since grown more than tenfold. Chefs like Dan Barber of Blue Hill in Greenwich Village prize pasture-raised heritage turkeys for the deep flavor that comes from their vigorous lifestyle and varied diet. "The saying 'A happy bird is a tasty bird' isn't about psychology," says Barber. "It's about physiology."

Strutting in its field, my bird did look happy. At least for a while. Supporting heritage breeds means coming to terms with the paradox of their existence: To preserve them, we must eat them, since farmers won't raise animals they can't sell. Choosing a heritage breed meant I was helping to ensure its survival.

And taste? The white meat was tender and grassy; the rich thighs boasted a nutlike earthiness. I could picture my grandparents eating such a noble bird, as surely they must have. The food on our plates that holiday was a gift from a past we nearly lost forever. And for that I was indeed thankful.